The US imprisonment regime is “unconscionable” as it has been institutionalized to guarantee that young African-American males remain trapped in a cycle of recidivism, an analyst tells Press TV.

The comment comes as African-Americans, who constitute 44 percent of all prisoners in the US, are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites and the US police are under fire over alleged racially motivated killings of African-Americans in the country.

In an interview with Press TV, director at Peace THRU Justice Foundation, Mauri Saalakhan, insisted that “there are about 2.5 million inmates in the US. It’s been said no other society in human history has imprisoned so many of its own citizens.”

“Now what’s interesting is that this sharp increase has occurred in the past 10 to 15 years. Why is that?”

The African-American leader also reiterated that black men and women in America are often targeted for non-violent offenses.

“It’s unconscionable, especially given the fact that most of the incarcerations are for non-violent offences; many of them are drug-related,” he said.

“When you do see the analysis of who within the American population is more susceptible to using drugs and dealing drugs, in study after study it comes out to be a young white male but, you know, the way that it’s; the system has been slanted towards criminalizing young black men and increasingly females.”

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Pan-African News Wire

The Pan-African News Wire is an international electronic press service designed to foster intelligent discussion on the affairs of African people throughout the continent and the world. The press agency was founded in January of 1998 and has published thousands of articles and dispatches in newspapers, magazines, journals, research reports, blogs and websites throughout the world.
The PANW represents the only daily international news source on pan-african and global affairs.
PANW editor Abayomi Azikiwe is often solicited by various newspaper, radio and television stations for comment and analysis on local, national and world affairs. He serves as a political analyst for Press TV and RT worldwide satellite television news networks as well as other international media in the areas of African and world affairs. He has appeared on numerous television and radio networks including Al Jazeera, CCTV, BBC, NPR, Radio Netherlands, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, South Africa Radio 786, Belgian Pirate Radio, TVC Nigeria and others.